HOPEDALE — Around 2 a.m. Thursday, the final link was moved into place on Route 16, restoring a long dormant railroad crossing for rail service between North Grafton and Milford.

Over the past year, the Grafton & Upton Railroad has been uncovering worn down or buried tracks and installing new ones at eight places in the area with a $1 million state grant. The crossing on Route 16, just outside Hopedale's town center, was the last to be restored along the 16.5 miles of track between Grafton and Milford.

The railroad was built in the 1870s. The owner, Jon Delli Priscoli, is only the third owner in its history.

The completion of the Hopedale railroad crossing is the last of nine crossing reconstructions. The newly completed ones are at Vernon Street, Depot Street, South Main and Cape Road (Route 140) in Milford; and Green Street, Bancroft Street, Freedom Street, the access road into the Hopedale Town Forest and Mendon Street in Hopedale.

The crossing replacements were funded by a MassWorks grant of $1 million, and the railroad kicked in another $250,000 to cover the difference so Milford and Hopedale would not bear that cost, Mr. Pizzi said.

Over the years, crossings were taken out of service as the line became less heavily used.. There was always the understanding that when line usage increased, those crossing would have to be restored at the towns' expense, said Doug Pizzi, spokesman for the railroad.

"The Grafton & Upton Railroad has always been a legally active railroad," Mr. Pizzi said. "Railroads are not like a Walmart. You can't pick them up and put them down anywhere."

The Grafton & Upton railroad is a "short line" railroad.

"Think of railroads like this: You have main arteries carrying the blood to the capillaries. Short lines are like the capillaries that help distribute the blood from the main arteries," Mr. Pizzi said.

In May, the railroad received a $221,700 grant from the Industrial Rail Access Program, to be matched by $330,300 from the railroad to expand track sidings in the Hopedale yard.

Mr. Pizzi said most of the communities along the railroad have been supportive. There is a case pending before the Surface Transportation Board, however, regarding a planned propane loading facility that Grafton is opposing.

"The towns recognize the potential for economic development and jobs this yard can provide here," Mr. Pizzi said. "There is big potential for economic activity, job creation within this corridor."

Behind Hopedale Town Hall is a rail yard that only five years ago was choked with weeds, but now is for the most part cleared.

The 30-acre site, formerly Wickes Lumber, is now home to G&U Logistix, a building-materials business, and soon, three other yet-to-be named businesses.

Shaun Keefe is president of G&U Logistix, a new compnay he started in the Hopedale rail yard after closing a business that was situated in a rail yard in Allston. G & U Logistix has 11 employees in the warehouse and distribution center and eight truck drivers.

"This is a central point," Mr. Keefe said of his decision to open a new business in Hopedale. "Drop a pushpin on a map and you are right in the middle. This railroad also has a 286,000-pound capacity. There are no other lines that can say that."

Mr. Keefe plans to install an additional 1,200 feet of new track alongside his building for additional capacity. There are 5,000 railroad ties stacked on the property.

G&U Logistix averages about 14 truckloads a day from the site.

The Hopedale rail yard could one day soon be as busy as the transloading station in West Upton. Situated off of Maple Avenue, the 30-acre rail yard is on the former town transfer station. CSX rail cars take the goods to the transloading station, and from there, the cars are unloaded or moved farther down the line.

Liquids, food goods, ethanol and even liquids used to make shaving cream for Gillette arrive in the Upton rail yard.

"Anything that comes through here used to go through the area on trucks," Mr. Pizzi said, looking out at the yard. "Every rail car is four tractor-trailer trucks of materials."

Contact Donna Boynton at dboynton@telegram.com or follow her on Twitter @DonnaBoyntonTG